San Salvador
Surrounded by green-tipped volcanoes, San Salvador is handsome compared to some other Central American capital cities. Its leafy suburbs are pleasant to explore on foot, while its galleries and museums stand out for such a small city. San Salvador’s huge wealth gap does mean that violent crime is a reality, and there are a few neighbourhoods east of town that are no-go zones.
Head instead to the hip nightspots of Zona Rosa and the shopping and café scene of Colonia Escalon, or dive into the teeming centro markets, where travellers are very welcome and often greeted with infectious guanaco hospitality.
Perhaps San Salvador’s greatest asset, though, is its location within easy reach of the ocean and the mountains. It makes an excellent base for day trips to Volcan El Boquerón, the arts village of Panchimalco, and the eerie hillside district called Los Planes de Renderos, or for longer forays to La Costa del Bálsamo and the Ruta de las Flores.
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Quezaltepeque (Volcán San Salvador)
Quezaltepeque (Volcán San Salvador) has two peaks. The higher peak, at 1960m, is called Picacho. The other, Boquerón (Big Mouth), is 1893m high and has a second cone within its crater – 45m high and perfectly symmetrical – formed in 1917. A paved road affords an easy climb to top, from where the view of San Salvador is unbeatable. Entry to the park costs US$3.
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Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site
Joya de Cerén was a small Maya settlement buried under volcanic ash when the Laguna Caldera Volcano erupted in AD 595. The small museum offers a good collection of artefacts and models of the villages. One compelling piece is a small dish showing fingerprints smeared in the remains of an interrupted meal.
The site is 36km west of San Salvador – take bus 108 from Terminal de Occidente and get off after crossing the bridge over the Río Sucio.
Residents fleeing the eruption left behind a wealth of everyday items that provide clues about ancient planting, home building and food storage. The ruins were discovered in 1976.

Complejo Arqueológico Cihuatán
The modest ruins of Cihuatán were once an immense urban area alongside the Río Guazapa, possibly the largest pre-Columbian city between Guatemala and Peru. Today Cihuatán makes a convenient history excursion for those staying in the capital and helps to contextualize San Salvador's modern-day urban settlement.
From San Salvador's Terminal de Oriente, take bus 119 toward Chalatenango and get off about 4km beyond Las Aguilares; ask the driver to let you off at the ruins. It’s a 900m walk to the site.

Ruinas de San Andrés
In 1977 a step pyramid and a large courtyard with a subterranean section were unearthed at this site, inhabited by Maya between AD 600 and AD 900. Experts believe that up to 12,000 people lived here. The peaceful ruins are 300m north of the highway and 33km west of San Salvador in the Valle de Zapotitán. Take the Santa Ana bus 201 from San Salvador’s Terminal de Occidente and get off at Km 33, at a small black sign for the ruins.
The city once dominated the Valle de Zapotitán and possibly the neighbouring Valle de las Hamacas, where San Salvador is now situated.
If combining this with a visit to Joya de Cerén, visit Joya de Cerén first, then catch any bus on the highway for the short distance to San Andrés. Aside from a shack selling drinks and packaged snacks, you won't find anything to eat here.

Panchimalco
Set on the green slopes of Cerro Chulo, Panchimalco is a small town renowned for its religious festivals, particularly Palm Sunday, when residents march through the streets bearing decorated palm fronds. Early May’s Fería de Cultura de las Flores y las Palmas features palm artistry, folk dancing and fireworks.
Inhabited by descendants of the Pipils, Panchimalco has reinvented itself as an artists' enclave. You can visit a number of working galleries here and purchase work from leading national artists at reasonable prices.
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Puerta del Diablo
This hillside district, 12km to the south of San Salvador, is famous for Puerta del Diablo (Devil’s Door). Two towering boulders, reputedly one single stone split in two, form a lookout with fantastic views. During the war this place was an execution point, the cliffs offering easy disposal of the bodies.
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Parque Balboa
At this family-friendly park, you will reputedly find some of the best pupusas in the land.
Take bus 12, ‘Mil Cumbres’, from the east side of the Mercado Central, at 12a Calle Poniente. If you’re driving, head down Av Cuscatlán until you see the signs.
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La Libertad
La Libertad is the first port of call for many travelers fleeing the capital in search of Pacific Coast surf beaches and all the misadventure that entails. Its no picture postcard, but the notorious Punta Roca wave breaking before a bustling fish market and malecón creates a striking urban image hard to manufacture elsewhere in the world. Its reputation as dangerous is not unfounded, but it's hardly the wild west many pundits suggest.
Beyond the beach, La Libertad is an important commercial centre – thanks mostly to the port – with more energy, souped-up buses and loud-mouthed touting than you’d expect for a town of such modest proportions. Most travellers bypass it for the more chilled-out beaches to the west, or the Deininger national park to the east, but it’s an ideal stop to stock up on supplies, or to experience a midsize, working-class Salvadoran city within minutes of your hammock.
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Parque Nacional Walter T Deininger
About 4km north of La Libertad, along the Comalapa road, Parque Nacional Walter T Deininger is named for the German settler who donated the land. It includes two types of forest: caducifolio, which sheds its leaves in summer, and galleria, which retains its foliage year-round.
To visit, you supposedly must obtain a permit from ISTU in San Salvador five days prior to arrival. You might try just showing up and talking with the guard. It’s a 15-minute ride from La Libertad – catch bus 187.
A well-maintained 18km trail skirts the park; you must be accompanied by a ranger.

Playa El Tunco
Playa El Tunco really parties hard on weekends, but press on a few clicks away from the city, circle down like an eagle and you'll soon have the glistening ocean, awash with turtles, dolphins and huge leaping fish, all to your beautiful self. Playa El Zonte is the best place to learn surfing or rent a fisher's boat for the morning.

Los Cóbanos
Los Cóbanos is essentially a fishing village on a secluded reef at the western tip of La Costa del Bálsamo. It boasts the country's best snorkelling and diving.

Santa Tecla
As San Salvador has started to creak under social and infrastructure difficulties, the city of Santa Tecla (or Nueva San Salvador), 15km southwest, has ever so slowly gentrified, particularly in the area around Paseo El Carmen. This pedestrian-only strip turns into a market each weekend and every day during summer, then into a happening nightspot, with cafes, bars, restaurants and even furniture stores serving a noticeably relaxed crowd.

Volcán Izalco
With three major volcanoes in hiking distance – one prehistoric, one impossibly steep and one recently exhausted – the burning heart of El Salvador is justifiably a highlight for many travelers to the country.
Active Volcán Izalco is the youngest in the group. Its cone began forming in 1770 from a belching hole of sulfuric smoke and today stands 1910m high. Izalco erupted throughout the 20th century, spewing smoke, boulders and flames and earning its reputation as ‘the lighthouse of the Pacific.’ Today, this bare, perfect cone stands devoid of life in an otherwise fertile land.

Volcán Santa Ana
Without Izalco’s stark drama but 400m higher, Santa Ana (also known as Ilamatepec) is El Salvador’s third-highest point. Its eruption in October 2005 triggered landslides that killed two coffee pickers and forced the evacuation of thousands. The barren and windy summit affords spectacular views of a steep drop into the crater on one side and Lago de Coatepeque on the other.

Parque Nacional Los Volcanes
Alongside volcanoes in triplicate, Parque Nacional Los Volcanes boasts hectares of lush forest that provide sanctuary for hundreds of migrating bird species, including emerald toucanets, woodpeckers and 17 species of hummingbird. The national park is easily accessible via a paved road that leads all the way to the visitor center.
The volcanic peaks of Izalco or Santa Ana can be tackled in a day – not the same day – or take a short stroll on a nature loop in the forested area. For a little more adventure, there are areas for camping, and guided hikes up the volcanoes from there.
Before 2003, the park was simply called Parque Nacional Cerro Verde, and many Salvadorans still use that name; indeed, you may get some strange looks using the new name.
Four-hour guided hikes to either volcano (Izalco US$1, Santa Ana US$2) leave at 11am sharp; this means you can’t do both in one day. Wear sturdy shoes. A short alternative is a 40-minute nature trail that offers views of the lake and Volcán Santa Ana. All hikes start from the carpark, near the park entrance.

Lago de Coatepeque
Approaching Lago de Coatapeque via road, visitors are surprised at the dramatic beauty of the 6km-wide sparkling blue caldera. You'll notice many cars slowing down at the mirador when the lake first comes into view. It's also remarkably free of crowds – mostly as the majority of properties dotting the lake's edge are privately owned by San Salvador's elite – and you can swim, dive or splash about in a boat without fear of the dreaded blue-green algae.
For around US$5, day-trippers can enjoy lake access at one of the hotels on the northeast shore. For US$20 you can rent a boat for a couple of hours.

Santa Ana
Only 65km from the capital, Santa Ana is a mid-sized El Salvadoran city, the long-standing coffee wealth of which is reflected in its architecture, some of the most magnificent in Central America. There's a relaxed confidence in the wide, tree-lined streets and colourful houses, and Santanecos are genuinely proud of their growing cultural scene. Smart travelers are choosing Santa Ana as an alternative base to the capital for exploring Lago de Coatepeque, the Maya ruins at Tazumal or the Ruta de las Flores.

Metapán
A new freeway connecting Metapán to La Palma may see more travelers discovering this hot agricultural capital, which makes a charming detour from the wilds of the bigger cities.
Metapán is a comfortable and convenient base for forays into Parque Nacional Montecristo, the country’s most inaccessible and exotic national park. The park is closed from May to November to let the wildlife breed in peace; when it is open you need a 4WD vehicle to get there.

Chalchuapa
The plains town of Chalchuapa is known as the home of Tazumal, a pre-Columbian settlement featuring the finest ruins in El Salvador. The friendly central neighborhood of low-rise multi-colored houses with crumbling colonial exteriors is pleasant to walk around.
In the nearby suburbs, Laguna Cuzcachapa is a natural sulfur pond and a mystical place of great significance in Maya culture. Locals suggest coming here when faced with difficult decisions, but beware the siguanaba (a mythical creature that poses as a beautiful woman to lure solo male travellers)! You can swim in natural spring-water pools at El Trapiche (location of the first Maya settlement in 2000 BC) or jump into a waterfall in Salto El Espino.

Tazumal
Archaeologists estimate that the verdant Tazumal area was first settled around 5000 BC. Part of a 10-sq-km zone, much is still buried under Chalchuapa’s more basic housing. The latest restoration, inaugurated in December 2006, restored the original stone-and-mortar construction in much of the ruins. A chain-link enclosure prevents visitors walking on the pyramids, but their close proximity to everyday Salvadoran life connect the site to the present in a powerful way.
An onsite museum displays artefacts showing active trade as far away as Panama and Mexico, with detailed explanations in English. Other finds, including the Estela de Tazumal, a 2.65m-high basalt monolith inscribed with hieroglyphics, are at the Museo Nacional de Antropología David J Guzmán in San Salvador

El Imposible National Park
Parque Nacional El Imposible is the largest park in El Salvador and is named for the perilous gorge that claimed the lives of farmers and pack mules transporting coffee to the Pacific port. Decreed a national park in 1989, it sits in the Apaneca Ilamatepec mountain range between 300m and 1450m above sea level, and includes eight rivers that feed the watershed for Barra de Santiago and the mangrove forests along the coast.
Hiking can get muddy and steep, but offers grand vistas of misty peaks and the gleaming Pacific Ocean. The best time to visit is October to February, as the rainy season hinders travel. via one of two points – either from the north or the southeast.
The main San Benito entrance is on the southeast side, beyond the hamlet of San Miguelito. In theory you need to visit the San Salvador office of the park’s administrators, SalvaNatura, to pay the entry fee and arrange for guide service (there is no guide fee, but a US$5 tip is customary), however the reality is you can just turn up and pay. Otherwise, if entering from the north via Tacuba, you don't need to pay, but should ideally be with a guide as it gets dense pretty quickly.

Ahuachapan
Traveling the La Ruta de las Flores, slowly and purposefully, is like a meander through the story of El Salvador. It's a searingly beautiful series of villages, each with a mix of colonial architecture in indigenous tones. Those who like the good life can feast on local food, particularly at the weekend markets, browse the craft tiendas, or undertake firsthand research into why El Salvadoran coffee is renowned across the world. If the pace is too slow, you can hit the Cordillera Apaneca, a volcanic mountain range filled with waterfalls, mountain-bike trails, and pine forest hikes where white flowers bloom in May. (Bus 249 runs frequently between Sonsonate and Ahuachapán, stopping in all the towns along the way, including Juayúa, Apaneca and Ataco.)
Ahuachapán is either the beginning or end of the Ruta de las Flores, depending on which direction you roll. Either way, it's a prosperous, small provincial capital that supplies 15% of the country’s electrical power thanks to the wonders of geothermal energy. There are some attractive colonial buildings, but for travelers it's mostly a jumping-off point for trips to Parque Nacional El Imposible or Ataco.
Nuestra Señora de Asunción - This church east of Plaza Concordia has pretty azulejo floors and a stained-glass Virgin.
Plaza Concordia - Green gardens and palms make Plaza Concordia an agreeable stop to catch a breeze. The kiosk occasionally holds concerts and free events.
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Apaneca
Apaneca means 'river of the wind' in Nahuatl, and there is a definite cooling in the air in El Salvador's second-highest town (1450m). One of the country's prettiest places to visit, its cobbled streets and colorful adobe houses are largely untouched by tourism, while its cottage craft industry is highly revered. The surrounding Sierra Apaneca Ilamatepec is a hiker's paradise.
The beautiful Iglesia San Andres was one of the oldest churches in the country until the 2001 earthquake reduced it to rubble, but it has been rebuilt with a similar appearance.
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Ataco
Many people leave Ataco with a new favorite village in El Salvador. Brightly colored murals and artisan markets, cobblestone streets and colonial-era buildings, a congenial mountain setting and excellent, cheap dining and sleeping options, the sleepy Flower Route destination even gets a little festive on Saturday nights with live music spilling into the streets.
Water is a valuable resource in this mountainous region, and efforts are slowly being made to protect it; the discovery of decent ruins nearby may exacerbate the need to safeguard the town's charms for posterity.
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Juayúa
Juayúa (why-ooh-ah) is the most-visited town on Ruta de las Flores due to its attractive cobbled streets, weekend food fair, and nearby waterfalls and hot springs. The fresh mountain air led to a rich indigenous settlement in the town where Nahuatl roots can still be seen in the craft aesthetic and high cheekbones.
Cristo Negro, or Black Christ, an important religious statue carved by Quirio Cataño in the late 16th century and housed in the church, is as significant as a symbol of change as for its obvious beauty. Juayúa has a tumultuous past. Indigenous uprisings in the region ignited the revolutionary movement of 1932. Backed by the coffee elite, government forces brutally quelled the ill-organized insurrection.
A recommended hike and swim is to Los Chorros de Calera, a series of falls spewing from fractured cliffs to form large, cold pools. The Ruta de las Seite Cascadas follows the Río Bebedero over seven scenic drops. Consult Hotel Anáhuac or Casa Mazeta for directions or guides; a guide is recommended due to reported robberies en route. Other guided excursions include lake visits, coffee tours and waterfall rappels.

Sonsonate
Sonsonate is a dusty city at the foot of Ruta de las Flores, which many travellers will pass through en-route to beaches and volcanoes. There's a slightly rural feel in the jeans and boots of the cattle men, and a few attractive colonial-era buildings. There's not much need to hang about in 'Cincinatti' though, particularly at night, unless you're in town during Semana Santa, when half the province descends.

Tacuba
Tacuba is a small, pretty mountain outpost known to travelers as the access point for the wilds of Parque Nacional El Imposible. At 680m and atop a one-way road, the lush, green setting mesmerizes first-time visitors, but its isolation is a double-edged sword.
Tacuba is known in left-wing political circles as the site of the Americas’ first communist revolution in 1932; today, sustainable tourism appears a more likely long-term hope to lift the town's economic fortunes.

San Vicente
San Vicente is dwarfed by pointy Volcán Chichontepec in the Jiboa Valley. Look out for the equally dramatic behemoth of Torre Kiosko, an otherworldly clock tower that juts from the farmland like some Disneyland ride gone haywire. Home to many musicians, San Vicente is also very gay-friendly – come July, the annual Miss Gay San Vicente draws quite the crowd (and contestants!).
El Pilar, a beautiful colonial church built in the 1760s, was badly damaged by an earthquake; despite renovations, remains closed

Alegría, Departamento de Usulután, El Salvador
Towns like Alegría exist to remind us to stop and smell the rose bushes in the town square. Arriving via a slow mountain pass, visitors are struck by the tranquillity of the place, that a mirador so grand could be seen from a family's kitchen table. There's not much to do per se – you can walk the town in half an hour – but a day at the lagoon, or an afternoon cafe-hopping, buying flowers and local crafts, could make for a wonderful rest day between hikes in the surrounding area.
The tourist agency has a municipal office and a booth on the Parque Central. It also offers some worthy guided hikes (US$10 to US$15 per half day) to coffee plantations, geothermal plants and sites related to philosopher and native Alegrían, Alberto Masferrer

La Laguna de Alegría
The scenic crater lake La Laguna de Alegría is a 2km downhill walk from town. Its icy waters are said to be medicinal. Don’t miss the beautiful view from the Mirador de las Cien Grados – a vista point at the top of 100 steps. You can also take the road toward Berlín, another pretty mountain village.

Isla Montecristo
A steamy, pristine sanctuary for hundreds of pelicans and egrets, this island and estuary sit where the Río Lempa meets the Pacific Ocean. During the war, the island and its cashew plantation were abandoned and taken over by the FMLN. After 1992 it was resettled by local farmers taking advantage of the postwar land transfer program. These days there are a number of families growing organic cashews as an export crop.

Usulután
The eponymous capital of Usulután Department is a noisy market town at the foot of 1450m Volcán de Usulután. For travelers Usulután will probably serve as a way station to Bahía de Jiquilisco and the lovely Playa El Espino. You can also easily reach the mountain hamlet of Alegría from here.

Bahía de Jiquilisco
With kilometre after kilometre of white sand pounded by surf, and inland mangroves facing the volcanoes, the Península San Juan del Gozo beckons. The inland sector is a habitat for gray egrets, pelicans and other waterbirds. Fishing towns include Corral de Mulas and Isla Méndez. Other less accessible beaches are at Punta San Juan on the peninsula’s east end and Isla Madre Sal. Also called Isla Jobal, Isla Espíritu Santo has endless coconut groves and a coconut-oil processing plant, but the beaches are no big deal. The Pacific side has strong, powerful and unguarded surf, so be careful.

San Miguel
Dwarfed by Volcán Chaparrastique, San Miguel is El Salvador's second-largest city and a provincial capital with plenty of swagger. For the traveller, there are some colonial-era buildings in the center, though it remains mostly an important transport hub, halfway point between the mountains of Morazán and the Pacific Ocean beaches, and a base for excursions up (and even into) the volcanic hinterland.
San Miguel has more strip clubs per capita than any other city in Central America, most visitors stick to the flash new malls along Av Roosevelt for their entertainment fix.
Parque David J Guzmán is Parque Central, with the cathedral to the east. This area can get busy with traffic by day and a little sketchy at night; west of central park is quieter and more secure. Av Roosevelt (Carretera Interamericana) skirts the southwestern edge of town.

Volcán Chaparrastique
Strong hikers can tackle 2130m Volcán Chaparrastique, aka Volcán de San Miguel, a towering cone southwest of the city. Arrange police escorts through the Chinameca Police Station, with at least a few days' notice. Get there with a rental car, or take the Placitas bus from San Miguel at the corner of Calle Chaparrastique and 7a Av Sur and then arrange a taxi. The top affords gaping views of the coast and a patchwork of rolling farmland. The crater is hundreds of meters deep, with a jumble of boulders and Virgins at the bottom.

La Unión
While some pockets retain a salt-crusted colonial charm, La Unión is the kind of town even the saltiest sea dogs are keen to avoid. It’s hot and downright dirty, with little to keep you here but an overdue boat headed for Nicaragua. The heat can be brutal too; even the dogs whimper at noon.
Playa Las Tunas and Playa Jaguey are good beaches on the coast west of La Unión. For some respite from the heat, and views of the gulf, head to Conchagua, at the base of the imposing volcano of the same name.

Beaches near La Union
Playa Esteron is the pick, partly due to its accessible, clean surf and coconut trees. It's also home to the most talked about retreat in Central America.
About 3km west of Esteron is Playa El Cuco, which is popular with weekenders from San Miguel. Be aware of potential jellyfish and manta rays – shuffle while walking out. There are plenty of good, cheap seafood restaurants in the sandy town square and a sizable surf break out front.
Further west, Las Flores is a prime surfing point suitable for beginners from December to February. The rest of the time it’s best left to the pros. You can access the famed Punta Mango break by boat from either Las Flores or El Cuco.
Broad and sandy Playa Jaguey is another good beach between El Tamarindo and El Cuco, with moderate surf. Private homes front the beach but you can still use it. There are no facilities. Playa Las Tunas is also pleasant enough, with a wide, flat beach reaching 100m to an estuary. The seafood restaurants get rowdy on weekends.

Golfo de Fonseca Islands
The nearest island, Isla Zacatillo, has the largest community, and numerous coves with sandy beaches can be explored here. The principal village has a few stores and lodgings in a wooden shack over the bay.
For solitary beaches, head for Isla Martín Pérez, just south of Zacatillo. More mountainous Isla Conchagüita offers hiking opportunities. Fishing boats are neatly lined up under enramadas (arbors or protective awnings, typically made of wood or branches) along the beachfront of the main village. There are prehistoric rock carvings on the way out to Playa Brava, a black-sand beach an hour’s walk from the village.
The pick of the islands is the furthest from the mainland. Isla Meanguera was long the subject of territorial disputes with Honduras and Nicaragua, until an international court declared it part of El Salvador in 1992. Aside from a small, friendly village, the island boasts Playa Majahual, a spectacular black-sand beach with warm, calm waters perfect for swimming. It’s a 45-minute walk from the ferry landing; shuttles (US$1) depend on availability.

Perquín
A visit to the former FMLN headquarters in the mountain town of Perquín is paramount to understanding El Salvador’s brutal civil war. It was in these hills that the opposition garnered its most loyal support, and despite vigorous bombing campaigns, the military was unable to dislodge the guerrilla forces. The town itself is small but the stunning pine forest surroundings can be seen at every turn, the mountain climate is agreeable and the war museum makes a trip here the highlight of El Salvador for many visitors.
A few blocks north of the park, Museo de la Revolución Salvadoreña charts the causes and progress of the armed struggle. Highlights include the collection of anti-war posters from throughout the world, the stark colour photos of life inside guerrilla camps, the incredible assortment of Soviet weapons and some histories of those who died in action. It makes for a sombre, stirring visit.
El Campamento Guerrillero Simulado is a reconstructed guerrilla camp connected by swing bridges and dirt tracks in a patch of partially cleared woodland. The museum is also the contact point for ex-guerrilla guides who can take visitors on fascinating guided trips throughout the war zone. The most popular destination is El Mozote.

Suchitoto
Little 'Suchi' is the cultural capital of the country. Every weekend the cobbled streets come alive for an arts and food festival in a grand celebration of guanaco pride. In February, the entire month celebrates the town's resident artists and the small galleries swell with domestic tourists. None of this is new, however; when indigo ruled the marketplace and the beautiful Spanish church was packed daily, Suchitoto was the pride of the province.
Architecture buffs will love the colonial buildings, while outdoor types can choose between numerous hikes to waterfalls, caves and beautiful Lago Suchitlán that begin and end just meters from town. Suchitoto is also a bird migration zone with over 200 species. Thousands of hawks and falcons fill the skies as the seasons change, and birds of all sorts nest in the relative safety of the lake islands.

Chalatenango
'Chalate' is the capital of the mountainous Chalatenango province in the country's north. There's a lovely daily rhythm here, as the narrow streets fill with farm trucks laden with fruit, sugarcane, indigo and coffee en route to the morning market on Calle San Martín, where you might just meet a cowboy. Colorful buses are stacked with friendly locals selling DVDs, toiletries and glittery sequined dresses; locals will strike up conversation in no time.
It's a pleasant place to walk around as you catch glimpses of the spectacular La Peña mountains and the Cerro Verde further west, both likely destinations if you've made it this far. Another popular day trip is to Lago de Suchitlan to the east.
For panoramic views of the Cerrón Grande reservoir, climb Cerro La Peña, a 1½-hour hike starting at a trailhead before the turicentro. A number of roads and paths reach the top; ask passers-by for directions.

Cinquera
The former FMLN stronghold of Cinquera has transformed itself into a successful example of grassroots tourism. The friendly community has initiated a series of projects that have helped it to rebound from the horrors for the civil war. Ex-guerrillas share first-hand accounts of the conflict at a war museum. A terrific little rainforest park is great for a short hike and waterfall swim, and there's a sustainable iguana farm for the herpetophiles.
The road into Cinquera is terrible. Bus 482 (one hour) leaves Suchitoto at 9.15am and 1.30pm.

La Palma
Murals upon mural in rainbow-coloured, naïve art–style made famous by local boy Fernando Llort, La Palma is a tiny village which makes a big splash of paint. A two-hour drive north of San Salvador, the clean mountain air and access to exceptional hiking trails is reason enough to visit, but given every bus stop, spare wall and park bench screams at you in thick pastel daubs, the playful irreverence keeps you happily grounded.
These bright, primitive images of mountain villages, campesinos (farmers) or Christ are synonymous with the modern Salvadoran art movement. Llort taught local residents how to create the same images and started a successful cooperative. Today 75% of the village makes a living by mass-producing these bright motifs.